Thirty -

"Oh, my."

Amelia's whole life, then, and perhaps the same for Jin.  A hand came up and clutched the gold cross necklace at Amelia's chest as she frowned, taken aback and saddened by the answer.  No wonder she was looking so hard for this man, then.

"Pardon?  Oh, you mean - goodness, no!"  How quick the mood seemed to change!  Amelia couldn't help a short, amused laugh at the question.  "No, he's a priest.  Father is the title used for priests, which is why he's Father Brennan.  The same goes for Father Richards - it would be rude to call them 'mister' or 'sir.'"

Amelia felt sad again that Jin was ignorant to these things.  And again, she hoped that she could convince Jin to join the church.  It should be easy, if Father Brennan really was her brother.  She should want to grow closer to him any way she could, and so... she'd join the church, would she not?

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to go inside and speak with Father Richards?  I'm sure he would be very helpful for your cause until Father Brennan returns."

Was Amelia trying to draw attention to her chest by clutching at that thing around her neck? She wasn’t doing a great job of it if she was, what with all the layers covering it. Seoyun’s gaze snapped back up to her face when she heard what sounded like a laugh.

She knew Brennan was a priest. What she didn’t know was if that was supposed to mean something to her or not, in terms of her previous question.

“Stop telling me about that man!” she exclaimed, only looking half as annoyed as she sounded. “I don’t care about Richards.”

And it was so much more of a trying task dealing with a man. Seoyun didn’t have the energy nor the motivation to flirt the way some women did to sway them, and she had a feeling this church would be upset if she whipped out the blade instead.

Catholics! Of course it was the Catholics that stole her brother. It had to be, because they were the ones with the most annoying rules.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Seoyun moved to stand. She didn’t want to waste her time outside of some church if her brother wasn’t even here. Especially not when some lady kept trying to make her talk to some priest.

“You don’t know when Brennan will be back?”

Lord have mercy!  This woman even had the temper of a man.  God bless her.  Amelia moved to stand as she did, sorry that she had upset Jin and still wanting to be of use to her.

Still, to say she didn't care at all about Father Richards - how rude!  She could have just said she wasn't interested in speaking to him.

Amelia was grateful her brother - if Father Brennan really was her brother - seemed to have enough manners for both of them.

"No, I'm sorry," she said.  Jin was just a little bit taller than her, and Amelia took a step back so she would not have to tilt her head back to look at her.  "But I doubt he'll be away for very long."

Though Jin might not have wanted to wait even another hour if it really had been so long since she last saw her brother.  Amelia felt another wave of sympathy for this woman.  With a sigh, she reached our and touched her arm, but pulled back quick as she had the first time when he felt something hard beneath her sleeve.

That wasn't - no, it was just jewelry, of course.  Had to be.  What else would a woman be hiding beneath her shirt?

Amelia cleared her throat.

"You know, I come to this church every day.  I'd encourage you to do the same, so you would be one of the first people to know when Father Brennan is back.  But," she continued quickly, "if you're reluctant to do that, I can come find you to tell you since I'm here anyway.  Where are you staying while you're in town?"

As soon as she felt Amelia’s fingers through her sleeve, Seoyun’s arm jerked away from them. Her gaze was sharp where it swept upwards to the woman’s face.

What was she playing at? Testing her that way, feeling her arm – was this pretty church-going look a façade?

More suspicious of her than ever, Seoyun narrowed her eyes and walked a slow circle around her as she spoke. If it was a disguise, it sure fit well. Amelia was either an excellent actor or a genuine holy woman, and from the way she kept trying to steer her towards the church, Seoyun had a feeling that it was the latter.

“Mm,” she hummed shortly, ending her circular inspection. She crossed her arms, throwing a glance back to the church building and then to the road she’d come from.

“On my ship,” she said. “But I could deal with somewhere closer if I have to come back here all the time. So, show me a place.”

Seoyun nodded with an expectant look back to Amelia.

It seemed that every second that passed, Amelia's day got stranger and stranger.  Suddenly she had the thought that this entire interaction with Jin was some sort of joke.  That this woman was teasing her somehow, trying to make a fool out of her.  Or perhaps she was mentally disturbed?

Why else would she have been circling Amelia like she was prey.

Amelia felt very proud of herself for keeping a straight face even when Jin said she was staying on a ship.  Like a sailor, or a pirate!

What an odd woman.

"Well, follow me then," she said hesitantly, motioning to Jin and starting down the street.  She had no idea where she would take this woman - a hotel would be the wisest choice, but if she really was ill in the head, was it safe for her to be in public?  Maybe she could keep this woman in her house until she could get ahold of her doctor brother.

But then, was it wise to bring this woman to her place of residence, with her aging father?

Where even was Arthur these days?

"You're staying on a ship, you said?" she asked meanwhile, uncomfortable with the silence.  "That must be very interesting!  You like it, I hope?"

Damn! This lady didn’t even put up a fight. Most people, she thought, would have challenged such a direct order from someone that might as well have been a stranger.

Not anyone Seoyun knew – they knew better than to try it – but still. Amelia must have felt the knife in her sleeve, unless she was really just that docile.

Er… helpful? Maybe helpful was a nicer word for her. Likened her more to a person than an animal.

Uncrossing her arms, Seoyun held her hands behind her back as she walked. Her posturing was far from formal, leaned forward with each confident step.

“Like it?” She’d never considered that. “Yeah. I guess. Wouldn’t own a ship if I didn’t.”

That wasn’t strictly true. She wouldn’t mind owning plenty of things she didn’t like, just for the sake of owning them. Seoyun spared Amelia a glance that was less critical this time.

Was she… nervous? Why did she keep talking after Seoyun had clearly finished the previous conversation and told her what she needed?

Whatever. She could spare her a few more words if it made her feel better.

“Where do you stay?”

How strange it felt to be walking next to this woman that acted like anything but.  She dressed like a man, and even walked like one too, though the way she leered and leaned so far forward was more reminiscent to a boy to Amelia.

And still, the top of her shirt was unbuttoned and exposing more of her chest than Amelia would be caught dead showing.

Disgraceful!

More than that, she really did own a ship.  Or claimed to.  Yet again, Amelia was concerned for her head.

"I stay in a little place with my father," Amelia answered honestly.  "It's close to St. Hilda's, and it's a very cozy little accommodation.  Very nice for the two of us."

Amelia's voice was pleasantly neutral, though underneath it she felt an intense longing to move out.  Not because her father was bad - quite the opposite, as her father was a lovely man - but Amelia was getting old.  She knew she was well past her prime, and every year that passed was another that made her more undesirable to men.

If she waited much longer to settle down and be married, she might not even be able to have children.  And what a terrible fate that would be; to grow old and die in the same house as her father, never having found love or made anything of herself.  No family so speak of or remember her save for the one she was born into.

"Um, your ship," Amelia said to distract herself.  "Do you really - own it yourself?  Or..."

She hadn't seen a ring on the other woman's hands, though to glance back now to check would be rude.  And how upset Amelia would be, if this woman had managed to be married before her.

This loon probably hadn’t the faintest idea how much of a target she made herself! It took everything in Seoyun’s power not to question her stare and call her some sort of pervert just to see what kind of reaction it would get her.

A bad one, she figured. Best not to try anything when she was at least partly relying on her for help finding her brother and securing a place on land to stay until she did.

Amelia even lived near the church. With her father, at that.

There were way too many fathers involved in all of it for Seoyun’s liking.

“Or what?” she said immediately, latching onto the unasked question without a second thought.

“Yeah, I own it myself,” Seoyun offered anyway a moment later. “Have you never been on a ship?”

Oh, thank God.  Jin wasn't married, and the ship wasn't her husbands, but her own.  If it even really existed, that was.

"I was thinking it might have been your husbands," Amelia easily explained.  "But you say it's your own, which is very impressive.  I've never been on a ship, but since coming to Whitby I've seen many come and go."

Amelia was a bit curious about them, but she'd never had the courage to go to the docks and ask someone for a tour.

"How did you come to own it yourself, anyway?  I imagine ships are very expensive, but - well, how big is your ship anyway?  Is it, like, a ship, or a fishing boat?"

At a junction in the road, Amelia took a turn and gestured again for Jin to follow.  Further down this street was her home, their destination, where her father was resting.  She'd have to ask her companion to not make too much noise so as not to wake him once they arrived.

Her husband’s!

Seoyun laughed at that, though it came out more as a snort. Her, with a husband? What did Amelia think she was, some sort of sailor’s hussy?

Oh, no. She’d rather die actually. And in fact, the ship’s previous owner did.

“I ki–”

But, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to tell this woman if she didn’t want her to change course for the local jail, or hell, maybe she’d just run away from her. Seoyun bit the inside of her lower lip as she considered it, and shook her head, presumably at nothing.

“It was a gift,” she settled on. Seoyun gave her with a very unamused look when she said, “it is not a fishing boat. It’s a ship. A real one, not one of those little dinghies they prance around in here. Come to the docks sometime and I’ll show you.”

It sounded like less of a suggestion and more of a demand by way of her definitive tone. She didn’t want anyone thinking that she, Jin Seoyun, sailed around in some baby boat because – she was a woman? Or did Amelia think she was poor, or incompetent?

“Where are you taking me? How much longer until we get there?”